


Night of The Rot

by Ghost0



Series: The Book of Sabrina [2]
Category: Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (TV 2018), DCU (Comics)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-15 07:15:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28559661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ghost0/pseuds/Ghost0
Summary: Night has descended on the ghost town of Greendale. As it does, a dark force sends unnatural creatures to destroy the town and everything in it. Sabrina Spellman and Derek Tynion must now stand together against these creatures, even if it means exposing their powers and bringing up a lot of questions. As the story continues, larger forces start to take notice that something odd is occurring on Earth
Series: The Book of Sabrina [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2092500
Kudos: 3





	Night of The Rot

There is a garden. One that a very select few have access to, and only one can call his home. Every day, he continuously walks through the garden as well as the structure that houses his sigil and the sigils of his siblings. He wears a cloak that covers his body and holds his hood over his head. While his eyes may be blind, he can see everything. The book that he is chained to guides his every step and shows him everything that has and ever will happen. But the book is doing something that has never happened before. The words on the pages are becoming blurred. He places his fingers on the paper and feels the words getting even more blurred on the pages yet to be seen. But the words are slowly coming into focus, one at a time. This causes him to pause on a small bridge going across a small stream. Something has interfered with the flow of the story. But he continues walking across the bridge and letting the words slowly come back into focus. He must see what is coming if he is to determine what has caused this unprecedented change.

******

Sabrina sat down in a circle of candles on her bedroom floor. She couldn’t take the risk of sending an astral projection without someone to watch over her. But she did try to reach her mind out to the academy to see if anyone was there. However, she sensed nothing where the building should be. An empty spot of land like so much of it surrounding the empty town. Frustrated, she went back downstairs and tried to find some books that might have something to help explain what is going on. 

She turned on a light that could be seen from one of the windows facing the parked car outside. But Derek had his head turned towards the town. He brought the energy drink back up to his lips and continued to gulp from it. Despite it being cold in the car, he didn’t turn on the heat. He instead found some gloves and put them on. The lids of his eyes got a little heavy, his mind thinking closing them for a second wouldn’t be bad. He allowed them to close just to get some relief. Unfortunately, his head leaning over and hitting the window was enough to break him out of his rising slumber. He brought his phone out to check the time. It didn’t feel like much time was passing, but that could be the boredom taking over.

“Why did you insist on being in this cold machine?” Derek startled, turning his head around to see someone sitting in the passenger seat. The newcomer had on a suit that was sporting multiple bright colors, but it was hard to focus in order to identify a main one. Their figure was slim, the hair short. But the eyes drew him closer, made him more focused on this person. This man that just suddenly appeared in his car. Wait, is it a man? It could be a woman. Again, it was hard to really pinpoint exactly who this person was. The person brought a cigarette to his lips and took in a long drag, exhaling through the nose. His head turned to look at the light piercing through the house window. Derek could see shadows moving inside, probably Sabrina out and about. “You could be in there. Yet you told her you want to be here. Is it the age thing? You’re not even ten years her senior.”

“How the fuck did you get in here?” Derek demanded from the figure.

But the newcomer didn’t respond. The head turned around to look back at him. “Wait, you must be going for the nice guy angle. You don’t want to push yourself on her too soon, letting her figure herself out. But listen to me dear, there is nothing more intense or sweeter than the heat of the moment. The thrill of taking that special person by surprise and letting your actions speak for you.”

“Fuck you!” Derek said, repositioning himself in his seat. “Fucking weirdest dream I’ve ever had. Is this really what my imagination is capable of?”

“Not a dream. My brother would be in charge of that. But chances are that I do have an indirect influence.” The figure grinned as he thought about it. “You see someone out and about. You think about them all day, wondering what it would be like to taste them, to know what their body feels like pressed against yours. Doesn’t have to be sex, I suppose. Maybe you just really want that promotion or that big break to take you from local musician to mainstream artist, holding a Grammy up on stage.”

Derek looked back over at the figure. “So I have you to thank for that time I imagined myself on a water park date with Salma Hayek?”

“Like I said, my brother is the one responsible for the dreams themselves. But I suppose he would say that whatever ends up in your dream is whatever you want in there.”

“I just want to blame someone else for the fact I had to change bedsheets the next morning.” The figure chuckled, taking in another drag. Derek took another drink. “So, are you actually going to tell me who you are or why you are here?”

The figure leaned back in the passenger seat. The eyes looked back at Derek, a piercing gaze reaching deep into him. He felt as if he was naked and presenting himself to this person, waiting in shame for something to happen, anything to end the mental agony. “You have been denying a part of yourself, Mr. Tynion.” The figure said. “For weeks, you have been keeping to yourself and been in a dark state of mind.”

“I don’t know what…” He paused, thinking about the meaning behind the words. The true accusation being directed at him. When he realized it, he glared right back at this unknown individual. “No. I can’t do that again.”

“Seems more like won’t if I’m being honest. At least one of us has to be.” The figure raised an eyebrow at Derek. “You should remember that nothing was added into you in order to make that change. All that happened was that a part that was within you became fully realized. What you did after that first transformation is connected to what you were asking for.”

“I didn’t ask to be a murderer!” Derek snapped back. “I don’t care who it was! I…how can I expect anything good to come from this?”

The figure leaned forward, looking out the window on Derek’s side. “I would say start with those nasty things that are heading your way. After that, it’s up to you.” Derek confusingly turned around and looked towards town. There was movement. But when he looked out, Derek felt something dark start to get at his heart. From the distance it looked like shadows were growing larger and consuming the buildings. But if he squinted and really focused, he could see that the buildings were starting to crack and fall apart. Then his eyes were drawn towards the ground and he took in the dark figures slowly walking towards the Spellman house. Several were moving, but Derek could only make out features on one of them. The skin was gray, parts of it missing and rotting off the naked body. No lower jaw, but it had an unnatural amount of sharp teeth ready to sink into something bloody. He couldn’t quite see the eyes, but he knew there weren’t any in the sockets. Derek turned around but found that he was the only one in the car. The unidentified person had vanished as easily as he broke in. 

Shaking his head, he quickly got out of the car and slammed the door shut. He dropped his drink and let the remaining liquid pour out onto the ground. He jumped up several steps and forced the door open. Sabrina looked up at Derek quickly turning around until he made eye contact with her. “Tell me you have guns for those things!” He pointed towards the outside of the house. Sabrina went over to the window and peered out. Her eyes widened as she saw what was coming towards them.

“Those are some kind of undead, that’s for sure.” 

“No shit!” Derek said. “Seriously, weapons of any kind would be greatly appreciated!” He rushed around the room, opening cabinets and searching for any hidden compartments. Sabrina walked away from the window and went towards the front door. It took Derek a couple of seconds to realize that Sabrina has walked outside of the house. He went into the kitchen to find the biggest knife that was inside. And when he turned around, he noticed she was gone. Rushing back to the door, he saw her walking partway down the dirt road. 

He went back out to try and pull her back. She stood firmly, extending her lowered arms out to her side as she looked out to the walking corpses. “Hecate, hear your daughter now. Give me the power to pull the dead back into the ground!” Vines broke through the ground near the walking dark figures, wrapping around their legs and bodies. When Derek reached Sabrina, he saw the vines seemingly succeeding and dragging the undead back into the dirt. She looked over to him. “Probably should have been completely honest with you about – “

“Oh I have questions. But when you’re fighting for your life, it’s best to not waste time on talking.” He cautiously took a couple steps forward to get a better look down the road. “Are you able to keep them down?”

“Getting there.” Sabrina focused her energy, grabbing onto more of them. At first, it seemed like a disaster was being avoided. The strength of the vines was causing some limbs to break off and fall onto the ground. But then those limbs morphed and changed, creating new rotting corpses that started to get up and make their way up the road. “I can’t get to all of them in time!” Sabrina said.

Derek felt his heart starting to race. He could feel it beating in his chest, the echo hitting his ear drums. There was a voice talking to him within his mind. This is a perfect chance to do it and not feel guilt. After all, aren’t they already dead? They aren’t alive, they should return to the ground and he could help them. But also, he could help her out. He wasn’t sure why that had to be a factor, but he knew that he didn’t really have much of a choice in the matter. He stepped forward and walked slowly. He could hear Sabrina ask him what he thought he was doing. But his ears tuned her out. His whole bit was on fire. Blue flame consumed every inch of his skin, pain radiated throughout his body as everything within him changed. By the time he reached the walking corpses, the transformation had changed. His skin was entirely blue, his muscles had grown in size and strength. The nails of his hands became claws sharper than any natural beast. The same could be said for his new set of teeth. Two long horns came out of his head and curled backwards. And his eyes were flowing red hot orbs of fire. He pushed the blade of the knife in his hand into the chest of the newly formed corpse. It snarled, reaching out to get a hold of him. But he grabbed it by the throat and he tossed him backwards, back into the direction of the crumbling town.

Sabrina watched in genuine surprise as her search partner had become an entirely different beast. But it was like what he had just said, it is better to not waste time asking. She closed her eyes and focused her energy into doing something else. She began to rise into the air, by only a few feet. But she could now get a good look at the moving mass. When her eyes open, they were completely white. Fire appeared in her hands and she started to throw them down onto the undead. Screams of anger came from below as the targets fell and burned away to cinders. Derek dug his nails into the decaying flesh of those closest enough to launch an attack. He dug into their limbs and tore them apart. His fists collided with them, beating them into submission. But they continued to keep coming back up and rushing at him for more. Anger began to rise up in Derek, and it manifested itself into blue fire that he used against them. When one came at him, the one with no lower jaw but many teeth, he used a hand to grab onto its head. Roaring loudly, he pushed his anger through up his arm and through his hand. It came out of him and turned into fire that burned his foe from the inside. 

It was when he placed his hand on the internally burning corpse that he sensed a mental image being projected. He only caught a glimpse of it before pulling away. There was a woman with white hair, a silver streak of black within it. She had black wings and eyes with no pupils. That was all he gathered before pulling his hand away and watching the body crumble down and rot away. As he looked up, he saw that all of them were starting to fall down and retreat back into the soil where they came. Sabrina came back down onto the ground, her eyes returning to normal as she approached Derek from behind. He breathed deeply, slowing it down as best as he could. Pain radiated through his body once again as he transformed back. They looked down and outwards to see the sudden mass rot take down an army of the undead. But when they looked out to the town, the buildings were still breaking apart. Crumbling into bits and pieces. 

“I don’t understand why they stop.” Sabrina said.

“They…got an order.” She turned to look at Derek. He kept continuing to look outward. “At least, I think that’s what happened. I felt like I had a mental connection for a brief moment. Someone…called them back.”

All she could do was nod in understanding. “Well, I don’t think there is anything left for me here.” She wanted to verbally say she wanted to go with him. But for some reason she held back. She wasn’t even sure if going with him – this guy that could transform into a demon of some kind – was the right choice. But she knew that no one else was there. They looked all day and found no sign of anyone else in Greendale. “I’ll grab a few things before you leave.” And all Derek could do was nod and watch her walk back to the house. He soon followed behind her. He placed his hand on top of the car and stared down in deep thought. The voice that pushed him to transform again. It shouldn’t have been that easy, should it? He wasn’t travelling around searching for something like this to happen. And yet, despite what he told that being before that fight broke out, he found himself all too willing to do so. And that got him questioning what his motives are. What is he really doing going across the country? He knows why he began, but not why he continues.

His head picked up when he heard the door from the house open. Sabrina carried a bag with her as she descended down the stairs. A loud cracking came from the structure, causing her to turn around. They both watched part of the Spellman home cave in and slowly descend towards the ground. While she isn’t surprised, she felt a small part of her crumble with the building she always knew as home. She took a deep breath as she turned around and got back in the car. He started it and they drove away in silence. Brick and stone started to roll and pile in the street, but Derek could still maneuver his way through the streets and out of the town. Sabrina looked out of the window and watched Greendale pass her by. Then she watched it in the side mirror as it grew smaller and smaller the further down the highway they got. Nothing but piles of rubble are left of Greendale. It would be hours before the sun rose back into the sky to shine down on the broken bricks. With the rise of the sun, there came vines and roots to help new plant life grow among the destruction.

******

The man holding the book walked back into his dwelling. He walked past the large table that he and his siblings would use when they all came together. He knew exactly how long ago it was when they last used that table. His feet carried him over to the place where he had placed the Ankh. His hands closed the book and used one hand to carry the large text. The other reached out for the Ankh and he carried it with him. He found the portrait, a young pale woman in a Victorian style dress, the color being black of course. He brought up the Ankh close to his chest before he spoke. “Sister, I hold your sigil and I stand before your portrait. Hear me and come.” A moment of silence passed. But of course, she came to stand in front of him in his hallway.

“Seriously? You had to make me wear this?” She looked down at her attire. “If it’s all right with you, I would rather wear something else.”

“I am not planning on summoning anyone else, and this should be brief. If you insist, then you may do so.” The large Victorian dress was gone. Replaced with pants and boots and a sleeveless black top. His sister smiled and slid her hands into her pockets as she turned around to face him. “A force of darkness surrounded a small town in the middle of the country called the United States. It came and made every building fall into decay until there was nothing left.”

She tilted her head to the side as she thought for a moment. “Hold on…oh, you must be referring to The Black. Or I guess The Rot is a more appropriate term for what you are describing. Look, I wasn’t really involved with that. I try to not get involved with the affairs of The Rot. Trying to avoid a situation of too many chefs in the kitchen. I trust them to work without my guidance, especially with their current avatar. There was some controversy from what I could silently gather, but I think the thing that got them arguing helps keep the balance. Until balance is no longer attainable. But I don’t dwell on that.”

“The town in question did not exist until hours before The Black came.” He told her. “I have looked back and confirmed that no settlement existed.”

“So maybe one of Earth’s sorcerers was doing something goofy.” She shrugged her shoulders. 

“There is no sorcerer currently alive that possesses the power to blur the words of the book.” He tightened his grip on the closed book in his hand. He placed his sister’s sigil down. “I must know if you have any knowledge about the activities of our siblings. If they are doing anything that is altering the flow of time.”

She sighed and shook her head. One of her hands reached dup and ran through her dark hair. “I know you hate surprises. But as far as I know, no one in our family is going anything that out of the ordinary. And who knows? Maybe saying the phrase abra kadabra suddenly became a game changer. Just let it unfold as it should and I’m sure that everything will sort itself out in the end. And it’s not like you can’t read it at all. What is it telling you right now?”

His blind eyes turned downward as he held his book up in front of him. Finding the current page, he saw the words slowly becoming focused just enough for him to see what is coming in the immediate future. “Your time here is approaching its end.”

She shrugged her shoulder. “Sounds about right. Just don’t stress out too much, OK?”

“I will keep your words under advisement, sister.” She gave him a smile before disappearing from his realm. He continued to walk and read. It frustrated him how slowly the words became readable. But it allowed him the chance to try and look back to see if there was some truth to what his sister said. Perhaps the emergence of a mortal sorcerer had seemed insignificant at the time but has become more relevant now. Currently nothing has been illuminated. So he continues to walk, waiting for the words to appear and show him what is to come.


End file.
